Security covers, tie downs and nets have been used in vehicles for decades to hide and stabilize the contents of cargo areas of vehicles. Covers or shades particularly are used to obscure the visibility of the contents of cargo areas, which are visible from outside the vehicle. An example is the cargo space of a Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) wherein the cargo area is typically most visible through the rear windows behind the C pillar (the pillar typically located at the back of the second row seats) or the rear window.
Retractable shades are drawn over the cargo area to obscure at a level below the bottom of the windows and typically somewhat below the highest extent of the second row seats when in the upright position. In many designs it is difficult to gain access to items under the cover without opening the rear of the vehicle.
When retracted the shades are wrapped on a tube which is coiled by a spring. When extended the shades are pulled against this spring tension to the another interior panel of the vehicle where the shade is temporarily attached by means of clips, snaps, detents and the like. To aide in extension and retraction as well as to provide stiffness, shades likely have handles and/or bars/tubes sewn or molded into the edge that is pulled from the roller tube to another interior panel. Security shades are mounted to be drawn transversely or in the cross-vehicle direction, or they may be mounted to be drawn longitudinally, typically from fore to aft in the vehicle.
The roller tube assemblies are sometimes intended to be removable from the vehicle. The roller tube assembly may be compressed axially against a resisting force such as a coil spring and then released into mounting fixtures integral to the interior side panel of the vehicle. These fixtures may comprise detents or depressions that the roller assembly expands into. Means to rotate the roller assembly to afford release are sometimes provided.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,213,387, discloses another security roller shade for a cargo area of a vehicle extending from a passenger seat backward to the rear access opening. In the retracted position, the cover is contained in a roller tube mounted longitudinally (fore and aft direction) on one side of the cargo compartment. The shade may be unwrapped from the tube and extended laterally in the cross-body direction to be affixed on the other side of the cargo compartment.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,464,052, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses a mounting which can be rotated relative to the roller tube and moved axially toward and away from the roller tube to allow mounting in a vehicle. The subassembly contains a means to rotate the roller to wrap up the shade. This patent further discloses a torsion motor spring to maintain the spring in a pre-wound condition prior to engagement of the subassembly to the roller tube. A trim cover axially larger than the rolled-up roller tube covers the roller tube except for a longitudinal slit through which the shade is wrapped and unwrapped.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,676,415 discloses a luggage compartment cover with a bearing shaft, which supports a flat structure that can be rolled and unrolled. The bearing shaft extends between two bucket-shaped side parts. At least one of the side parts is movable axially relative to the bearing shaft so the cover to allow it to be released from in a first position or placed into a mount which is integral to the vehicle in a second position relative axially to the bearing shaft. At least one of the side parts has a releasable lock for locking its side part in the released position.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,813,449, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses a compression loaded end cap for a security shade with a pawl and tooth engagement mechanism allows the end cap to be latched in a plurality of relative axial positions which allows the entire shade assembly to be mounted despite variations in distance between mounts.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,934,354, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses axially spring biased end caps which may be compressed to be installed within a vehicle, and provide the secure installation force via the outwardly biased end caps.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,039,105 the disclosure of which is also incorporated by reference, illustrates another method of adjusting the lateral positioning and tensioning of a roller shade. The mounting pockets in the vehicle provide the compressible leeway for the shade when installed.
A general purpose of adjustable length shade rollers has been to provide a means of installing the shade roller in detented or recessed mounts and secured in place without significant movement or rattle despite spacing variations between the mounting brackets due to build or tolerance variations.
Although roller shades are extremely useful, they are typically removable. For example, roller shades are typically installed behind the rear seats of an SUV, and are removed when the rear seats are folded to enlarge the cargo space. When removed from its installed position, a roller shade is somewhat awkward to stow, as they are relatively bulky and tend to rattle if not secured. In at least some vehicles, there is room underneath the surface of the cargo area to stow a shade roller, but the space is typically not large enough to accommodate the full length of a standard shade roller.
Thus, an object of the present invention is to provide a shade roller that can be securely stowed in a reduced length and can still be securely installed in a vehicle.
It is a particular object to provide an end cap for vehicle security shade roller assemblies that is compressible to facilitate secure mounting within a vehicle and also provides a simple way to shorten the roller tube assembly to fit within a reduced storage area within the vehicle with the same compressibility to allow for secure stowage.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a plurality of easily manufactured extension pieces which can be used to adapt a roller shade for a variety of vehicles or models.